Electronic modules, such as electronic or optoelectronic transceiver or transponder modules, are increasingly used in electronic and optoelectronic communication. Modules typically communicate with a printed circuit board of a host device by transmitting electrical signals to the printed circuit board and receiving electrical signals from the printed circuit board. These electrical signals can then be transmitted by the module outside the host device as optical and/or electrical signals.
One common difficulty associated with modules is the generation of heat during the operation of the modules. This generated heat, if not dissipated, can cause a module to malfunction or to become damaged. Some heat-generating components within a module include a flat surface that is generally parallel to a surface of the module housing, although the elevations and locations of these component surfaces may vary by component type due to the different sizes of the different components. The elevations of the surfaces of these components may also vary slightly due to assembly tolerances, such as soldering tolerances.
Typical modules include a die cast zinc module housing with heat-removal features resembling pedestals or recesses molded on the inside of the housing to provide thermal contact to the various heat-generating components within the module housing. Due to manufacturing tolerances, there is generally a small gap between each pedestal or recess in the module housing and the corresponding heat-generating component because the housing and the component are both relatively rigid and must not be allowed to interfere with each other. These gaps may be filled with a relatively thick amount of thermal gap-filler material that is thermally conductive but pliable. The thermal conductivity of the zinc used in a typical module housing is relatively low, as is the thermal conductivity of typical thermal gap-filler material. Typical thermal gap-filler material may also be messy, difficult to manufacture, and intolerant of disassembly.